


Timidity and Tenacity

by Leech



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen, Kid!Levi, kid!Erwin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-25 13:56:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2624273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leech/pseuds/Leech
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the bright side, the brick that kept showing up under the window at least gave Erwin something to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Timidity and Tenacity

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Februeruri's [comic](http://februeruri.tumblr.com/post/102727483981/basically-ch1-of-acwnr).

He had come to notice a brick sitting sentry outside the window a week ago. Erwin had made haste to place it elsewhere, where it could possibly belong, but every morning did it crawl its way back to sit lonesome by the schoolhouse. It’d perplexed the boy for a time, distracted him during his father’s lessons and gotten him into a small amount of trouble. It didn’t dampen the bewilderment; Erwin was more curious about the brick outside than the books he read in class.

Not that it was much of an issue. Erwin found quite enough time outside of class to catch up. His father would make sure it happened one way or another. Erwin was only too relieved to have not been moved across the room, somewhere far from the window, where watching dutifully would become impossible.

But now, Erwin had all the time in the world. With his father being a teacher, it wasn’t unusual to stay late after class. While typically he would go outside, today had the boy perched at his desk.

“You could be outside, Erwin.” His father’s voice was strong, the wooden walls bolstering it across the room. Even with Erwin sitting farther back, he had never found it difficult to hear the lessons. “Rather, you should be.”

“Too hot,” Erwin chirruped. Blue eyes wandered a moment to catch the look on his father’s face. He wasn’t looking up, but his lips had quirked toward the edge. It strung pleasant heat in Erwin’s chest. It was good to see his parents happy. Lately had they seemed sad, although Erwin didn’t have a thought as to why.

Either way, his father returned to his work without question. Erwin remained at the window until his father finished. No one had shown up to replace the brick outside.

 

* * *

 

 “Why do you keep staring out the window? Your dad’s going to get angry at you again.”

Erwin turned his head to the girl at his right. A tiny thing, brown eyes narrowed and reddened nose scrunched.

“What’s it matter to you?” he retorted, a quiet hiss that matched the girl’s own. The boy saw her more as a snake. She was habitually fussy, and lately it’d begun to grate his nerves.

“’Cause it’s the rules.”

“What are you going to do about it?” The girl shot her arm up, the sleeve of her dress sliding down at the jerky movement. Erwin’s face blanched.

“Fine!” the boy whispered, sitting up straight and focusing on his book. The brown-eyed girl folded her hands back in her lap and gave a wide grin. Erwin could see it from the corner of his vision. He wished she were in front of him. He could pull her ponytail.

At the end of class, Erwin took the chance to lean over the window and check beneath it. The brick was a few feet back, dropped sloppily where it indented in the dirt. Whoever had shown up was gone now. Even as he looked further down the road, there was no one to be seen.

 

* * *

 

Thursday was wet and soggy, the classroom humid with the prior night’s rainfall. Erwin could see the water droplets that still collected on the window from where he sat. Fat rainclouds hugged the rooftops, the high walls that rose up all around the city. Many times had he watched them become soaked in the storms, seen the rims hide away on foggy days. Monstrous, he could see their hulking tops rising high over the houses, even from the schoolhouse.

Erwin turned his head at the sound of a chair scraping, his father stepping out of the room for a moment. Class had been over for a few minutes now. The boy knew he’d be back. It was quiet besides the far-off thunder. The sky’s roars vibrated in his bones; Erwin could feel it in his teeth, under his skin, in the hollows of his eyes. He’d always wondered how it could be so loud, wondered where exactly it was coming from. The sky stretched farther than the walls, and Erwin knew the storms, too, wandered wherever they pleased.

Erwin, head turned toward the window, rested his cheek against his folded arms. It was soon becoming a job to figure out who was moving the brick outside. No longer an interest, Erwin dedicated himself to it as his duty. Somehow, he imagined that discovering the culprit would be fulfilling enough to make up for lost time.

Blue eyes, having wandered to stare blankly at the patterns on the wooden desktop, snapped up at the sound of feet in mud. His back straightened out, hastily sitting up and floundering to hide beneath the window. He’d catch them off guard. They wouldn’t have a chance to run this time.

Head cocked back, Erwin brushed blond bangs out of his eyes. Fingers peeked over the edge of the windowsill, wet and pinked from the cold. Erwin could see dirt beneath their fingernails. His lips parted soft, and eventually he didn’t restrain himself from popping. The tension was simply too much.

Blue eyes met gunmetal, the black-haired boy outside stumbling back and off his brick.

“Hi!” Erwin spouted, not minding the soft haze of water that grazed his cheeks and nose. The boy outside was damp, legs as wobbly as a colt’s. “What’re you doing outside when it’s wet? You’re going to get your clothes muddy.”

The child only lifted his hands over his stomach. Erwin could see his face reddening, blood rushing to fill his ears and cheeks.

“I’ve never seen you before. You should come to school with me. I know you’re the one who’s been putting that brick there. Are you trying to see inside?” The child fervently shook his head, stepping back again. “It’s fine. I’m not mad at you. You should come to school with me. My dad’s our teacher. I’m Erwin Smith. What’s your name?”

There was a moment that the black-haired child said nothing, eyes rolling in their sockets, but always returning to Erwin. The blond offered a smile. Maybe he was embarrassed. Erwin didn’t think he should be. He knew his father was a good teacher.

“You don’t have—“ The boy spun on his heel, sliding in the mud before catching himself and hurrying off. Erwin leaned farther outside, mouth opened slightly in confusion.

“Erwin?” He turned to see his father in the doorway, heavy brows knitting together. “Who are you talking to?”

“There was a boy outside.” The man pursed his lips and made his way toward where his son stood. Bending himself out the window, Erwin joined him and flung a finger out straight. “He ran away when I tried talking to him. I think he’s been listening to your classes. He put the brick under the window.”

The man turned his gaze down. He was silent, soon pulling his broad frame back inside and brushing his hand into Erwin’s hair.

“Maybe he’s shy. If he wants to listen, he’s welcome to. You can stop fiddling with his stepping stool.” He left Erwin to occupy himself for the remainder of time, Erwin only continuing to scan the area outside. The boy didn’t come back though, his father calling him before Erwin wandered outside. “Leave him be, Erwin. He’ll come back on his own.”

Erwin did as he was told. He waited patiently after class, before school, took time to glance outside whenever he could during lessons, but the boy didn’t show up. The brick, too, vanished after a few days. Erwin found another to fill its place. But winter came before the boy did, the window shut until spring came.

 


End file.
